I think EU or not, the storyline was flawed without some kind of side story on the Empire looking for new Jedi. If you buy into the EU, there are any number of Jedi that survived Order #66, so it isn't impossible that one of them takes down the Emperor or even trains someone to fight him.

Even if you don't buy into the EU, Yoda and Ben Ghosts could have trained some other newer Jedi down the road. They are being born all the time and it doesn't seem like a Force Ghost has issues travelling all over to check them out or feel them in the force. It isn't like Luke is such an incredible fighter in ROTJ that no one could stop him. I think it just comes down to another aspect of the OT that gets a little ruined by poor prequel planning.

i think that the whole luke/leia being last hope is that there wasn't anyone one that was as powerful as Anakin even in his demenished state as Vader. If Vader was to "be more powerful then either of us" from what Palps says in EPIII, then i think the best hope is that 1 of his offspring has the inate talent born into him/her to take Vader on and defeat him. Any other Force sensitive person probably won't do, and probably would be killed just as easily as any of the council members did in EPIII.

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Harmless is the most dangerous of perceptions, you never expect it to strike.-Purge

I am a big EU fan but I think the Sequel Trilogy should either completely ignore it or use whatever bits and pieces serve the story. I think seeing Luke as a Jedi Master is a must. I think the first movie should catch us up with the OT characters and establish the new threat. the second movie should move the focus from the OT characters to the ST characters (hopefully the children of the Skywalker/ Solos), and the third should be a vehicle for establishing the ST characters as the new guard.

I don't need or want to see Luke, Han or Leia die. IMO, killing off characters of that stature is a cheap way to get an emotional response from the audience. Not only that, it's been done to death in the EU (Jacen going dark, Anakin dying, Chewbacca dying) and I'm sick of it. Call me sentimental, but I want to see these characters pass the torch and have a happy ending to their respective stories.

I really don't know what to expect for the STs either. I'd like to see the passing of the torch, too, but I could never get into the Solo/Skywalker kids. Maybe if they are older children (since it's 30 years since RotJ)... but no more Jake Lloyd young kids. As for EU things, I don't follow it much, so I hope that they start with a clean slate. I don't want to go into the movie and wonder who or what things are, to where one would be required to read the books before hand. I'm sure there could be nods to EU fans in the movies like they did with the PT.

I keep taking note that almost every bit of news released about the Sequel Trilogy mentions the words "AN ORIGINAL STORY". And that leaves me thinking that we may see a significant departure from the Zahn penned Thrawn trilogy, and other post ROTJ expanded universe.

My key concerns? Is it a good story? Does it carry on that original spirit of Star Wars? Is it not a blatant money grab by Disney? Those are the things that come to mind for me.

I've been interested to see some of the director names that have been getting thrown around, too. Jon Favreau appears to be lobbying for the job. There's also the continuing mentions of Joe Johnston. And David Fincher's name has been added to the mix, too. It's definitely not bad company in terms of directors. As long as they keep schmucks like Michael Bay and Brett Ratner away from the projects!

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"You were entrusted to lead the Republic." - Vote for Ven Zallow from THE OLD REPUBLIC in figure polls!

I think that there might be a glimmer of hope that they will use some of what is already out there in the EU, or at least not completely ditch what has been written. From this month's Insider interview with Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas:

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Lucas: ...I have story treatments of Episodes VII, VIII and IX and a bunch of other movies and obviously we have hundreds of books and comics, and everything you could possibly imagine. I moved that treasure trove of stories and various things to Kathleen and I have complete confidence that she's going to take them and make great movies.

I didn't read this to say they are completely ditching the EU and will not use any of it. In fact, there was another part from that interview that talks about how Lucas will be there to make sure there is continuity between the new movies and what is already been penned:

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Lucas: ...I mean, I can tell you the mythology. That's all my job is, is to be the keeper of the flame, and just make sure that it's consistent...

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Kennedy: ...I like to think as we move forward that the fans are on board, they help us, they support what it is we're trying to do. The main thing is to protect the characters and that they still continue to live in the way that George created them. And that the universe of Star Wars continues to grow in ways they can get excited about...

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Kennedy: ...These are original stories and original ideas that come out of a world that, essentially, is in George's head. So the beauty of the collaboration that can continue, as we work our way through these scripts, if we're sitting there going, "Hmm... I wonder if this character can do that?" or "Does this make sense within the rules of Star Wars?" I think there's so much that's been written about Star Wars that falls outside of what happened in the movies that he's the keeper of the flame.

So I'll keep my fingers crossed over the next several years hoping they don't completely f-up decades worth of great stories, characters and worlds. Here's to the future of Star Wars, and a hope that its new beginning is as great as it was back in 1977!

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The 60mm Sith Lord - All the hate and anger you've come to expect, now in a new conveniently sized package!

Not to mention Lucas is sort of known for not giving a poopy about the EU... The Coruscant story always makes me laugh a little that he sanctioned it and then was mad about having to use the name in the PT... Why was that such a big deal? No clue. It gives me little hope of the EU making any appearance is all. Possibly being able to still be crowbarred into things, sure, but not really making an appearance.

I'm honestly going in with an open mind though, and whatever happens, happens. I just want to enjoy it. Whatever it is.

The EU post ROTJ is just too expansive at this point for the new movie not to step on something. You are just going to lose the general audience if you try to set this movie ~40 ABY and keep all the EU. I think it would be a bit too much to tell someone: Han and Leia had three kids, but two are dead and one of the dead ones became a Sith Lord. They are now pretending to be the parents of the Sith Lord's child because the mother is a Queen in a planetary system where females are in charge and said child would be in danger of being assassinated. Then tell them, Luke was married but his wife was killed by the above Sith Lord nephew, but they did have a kid named Ben who is named after Obi-Wan. Then progress to all this happened after the universe was decimated by a technology hating species that could be felt in the Force. This was followed up by a second Galactic Civil War which lead into Jedi going crazy because they were exposed to some all powerful being that links in to that crazy Mortis trilogy from the Clone Wars cartoon. Finally, tell them that Chewbacca is dead and won't be in the new movies. He sacrificed himself saving Han's son (not the one who became a Sith Lord) and had a moon dropped on him...then tell them that was all for nothing because that son died shortly thereafter.

I think all that is a little much for the general fan to digest. If the new trilogy is to be the passing of the torch, it is a little weak to only have two Skywalker decendents left alive. There are too many established Jedi in the EU for the new trilogy to be a "Luke training/resestablishing the Jedi" storyline.

Sorry this is really off-topic from what everyone's talking about on here, but I was thinking about it the other day and I find it really funny that we've already heard from pretty much everyone (Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan McGregor, Mark Hamil, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher) that they want to be/are open to being in the new movie, and the ONE person we haven't heard from is the star himself... Hayden Christensen.

It's funny, because you would think Force Ghost Anakin would have a greater chance of showing up in the film than Force Ghost Mace or Obi, to communicate with Luke once he's busy running the New Jedi Order.

Hmmm, I wonder what did it for Hayden...

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"'Want to see a trick I learned at the Sith Temple? It's called "'Force Choke.'"

Not to mention Lucas is sort of known for not giving a poopy about the EU...

Honestly, I got the complete opposite impression from Lucas. I recall reading somewhere that he had his hand in EVERYTHING Star Wars related. They had to pass general storylines, storyboards, specific plot points, and finished product for just about everything past him for approval. That's what helped drive a strong continuity than most fictional universes out there. If he truly didn't care about it, I don't think he would have dedicated that much effor to maintaining it. I do think the EU was and will always be secondary to his movies though.